Paul L.

It depends greatly on the bent and the type of terrain you are riding in. I might try renting a bent before you buy though. A faired bent can be a lot faster if your commute is flat and heavy crosswinds aren't an issue. I am much faster on my bent than my upright with aero bars primarily because I get more oxygen in the bent position and can hammer harder for longer with my bad back. So there are a lot of variables to be considered for sure. I am probably slower than Lance on my bent, but I am faster than myself on an upright in aerobars on it. If you have a lot of hills, I would not recommend a bent unless you have back problems (my back won't let me climb more than a few miles without going crazy but on the bent it isn't an issue so again I am faster as I eliminate a problem that previously limited me there but people without back problems will be faster in steep hills on an upright usually).